Automatic stop mechanism for knitting-machines.



I. W. GROTHEY.

AUTOMATIC STOP MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHiNiS.

APPLICATION mm MAR. 2. I9I2.

1,189,684. Pun-11ml Jul 3, 191M r. w. GROTHEY;

AUTOMAHC STOP MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATICN FILED MAN. 2, 1912.

1 1 89,684. lzltvntod July 4, 1916.

3 SHEETSQSHEET 2.

{Inventor l/vihmmcs I. W GROTHEY.

AUTOMATIC STOP MECHANiSM FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICAYION FILED MAR. 2. I912.

1 ,1 89,684. Patented July 1, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- i? 3 wventoo bar/z W6 7?) Z7059.

l ihwmao UNITED STATES PATENT oEinoE.

IVERN W. GROTHEY, OF

YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO SCOTT 8a- WI ILEAMS INCORPORATED, OF CAMDEN, NEW! JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW J AUTOMATIC STOP MECHANISM FOR KNITTING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 4. 1916.

Application filed March 2, 1912. Serial No. 681,064.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, lvEnN W. Gno'rHEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at York, in the county of York and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic- Stop Mechanism for Knitting-Machines, of which the following is a specification, ref erence being had to the accompanying drawings. 1

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improven'ients in knitting machines, and relates particularly to mechanism for automatically stopping the ma. chine by tripping the belt shifter and by automatically applying a brake, in case the yarn or thread becomes knotted or breaks or is of too great a tension.

The invention has for one of its primary objects, a simple and etlicie'nt construction of stop mechanism of the nature just specified, which will not automatically to instantly stop the knitting machine should a knot be formed in the yarn or thread or the tension increased, and which will embody one or more tension fingers that will normally hold the thread or yarn under the required tension as itis fed from the spools to the head of the knitting machine,

the parts being so constructed and arranged that immediately upon an obstruction or knot in the yarn engaging a. knot-catcher embodied in the mechanism, the tension finger will move in a direction to trip the device and stop the machine. the movement of the tension finger being in a rearward direction or in the direction of the source of the yarn supply and of such character, as will be hereinafter and more fully described. as to at once strip itself of the yarn without substantially changing the position of the entering run o yarn.

The invention also has for its object a stop mechanism of this character. the parts of which are so constructed and arranged that the same tripping mechanism may be used with more than one'thread, the tensioning and throw-off fingers, for the separate threads or yarn, being both connected to the same tripping mechanism. but each operable without affecting the other, whereby should one thread or yarn become too taut or broken. the machine will be stopped and the knotted yarn immediately thrown off. without affecting in any way the other thread or yarn.

A further object of the invention is a machine of this type which will embody a setter shaft capable of operating; with two threads or yarns and carrying.independ ently movable feeler fingers, either. one of which may be actuated independently of the other to trip the mechanism by disengaging the setter shaft from its co-acting latch. in case the thread or yarn breaks. I

A still further object of the invention "is a stop mechanism for the purpose described which will include a novel and extremely simple and useful form ofitrip device for tripping the belt shifter and applying the brake. and which will also embody a novel and extremely simple and efiicient means for manually setting the apparatus.

The invention also has for its object in a mechanism of this character, an improved construction and arrangement of stop device for the thread or yarn, provided with a plurality of slotted guide fingers, the slots of which are of varying widths, according to the diameter of the thread or yarn to be. passed into the knitting machine, said stop devices being capa e of revoluhle adjustment so that they may be held in the required 'position to present the required finger in the path of movement of the yarn or thread between the lower and upper rela-- tively stationary guides. And t e' invention also aims to generally improve this class of devices and to render them more useful and commercially desirable.

lVith these and other objects in view. as will more fully appear as the description proceeds. the invention consists in certain construction, arrangements and combinations of the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention. reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings in which,

Figure l is a rear elevation of an automatic stop mechanism embodying the improvements and principles of my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged face view of a portion of the apparatus with the cover plate of the casing removed. Fig. 3 is a detail Hit sectional view on the line 33, of Fig. 9. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the apparatus. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view on the line of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the base of the apparatus partly in section on line 66. of Fig. 4. and with parts broken away. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of one of the knot catchers and the means for holding the same under tension in adjusted position. Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the upper end or head bracket of the machine. Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view through the devices for tripping the belt shifter and for applying the brake. Fig. 10 is a detail perspective view ol' the setter shaft, and, Fig. 11 is a transverse sectional view, the section being taken approximately on the line 11-11. of Fig. 2. and showing a thread or yarn passing through one of the feeler fingers and its c0acting frame.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all of the views of the accompanying drawings by like reference characters.

My improved automatic stop mechanism for knitting machines embodies a base 1 which is formed with socketed arms! in which spool-holding rods 3 are detachably connected as by set screws 4. The base 1 is also formed at right angles to the arms 2, with upwardly facing socket members 5 which are designed to receive the lower ends of vertically and upwardly extending posts or uprights i. the same being secured in the socket members 5 in any desired way. as by set screws 7. These posts or upright rods 6 rgxtend parallel to each other, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4. one in advance of the other in relation to the head 8 of the knitting machine.

The thread or yarn 9 is adapted to pass from the spools 10 upwardly through lower guides 11 which. in the present embodiment of the invention, are formed as eyes in the ends of a transversely extending wire rod 12 which is secured to the foremost upright or post 6 by a set collar 13. The yarn also passes upwardly through c'orrcs mmling guides 11 and thence upwardly and forwardly and is looped once around the downwardly and forwardly projecting extremities 14 of tcnsioning detector and throwoff lingers 15 that are pivotally mounted upon studs 11' projecting laterally from the relatively frcc end of a horizontally disposed and forwardly projecting bracket 17 secured upon the upper ends of the uprights 6. From the extremities 14 01 the fingers 15. which lie substantially in the axis of rotation of the knitting head, the yarn or threads 9 pass downwardly to the head 8. it being particularly noted that immediately upon being looped around theextremities 14 of the fingers 1.7. the threads or the like extend downwardly into engagement with relatively stationary bowed arms 18 con tituting open U-shaped loops that are formed by downwardly, outwardly and rearwardly extending wires secured to the relatively free end of the horizontal bracket 17. This construction of thc tcnsion fingers 15, in which the fingers are substantially vertical. and in which their movement to dro) the yarn takes place in a plane radially .f the vertical center of the machine. and directly toward the fixed yarn guides. and the yarn supply at the rear of the machine, isvery advantageous. since it enables the loop of too tense yarn to be dropped with a minimum motion of the tension detector element. It will also be obvious that the loop is dropped. by this arrangement, so that the continued running of the yarn for the short interval preceding complete stoppage carries thc dropped yarn well clear of the other normal yarn, and in a path leading from the guide 11 in an advantageous position for quickly finding and removing the knot or slub which caused the stoppage, and rethreading the machine.

As best illustrated in Fig. 8, the fingers 15 are coiled around the stud -16 to form their pivot bearings, and are thence extended upwardly, as indicated at 19. and connected. respectively, to r arwardly extcnding rods 20 which extend parallel to each other in laterally spaced relation and which freely pass real-wardly through separate and distinct apertures formed in a laterallyelongated lip 21 which is formed on the periphcry of a disk mounted to turn about a central axis 23 in the form of a stud projecting from the bracket 17. The 1 *ar extremities of these rods 20 are hooked or turned angularly, as indicated at 24. whereby either one of the rods may be pulled forwardly and thereby turn the disk 22 without moving or otherwise affecting the other rod 20. The rods 20. and consequently thc fingers 15 that are pivotally connected thereto, are held under tension by means of springs 25 whichv are coiled around tensioning screws 26 journaled in the bracket 17 and are connected at one end thereto. the other ends of said springs extending upwardly through loops or eyes 27 formed in the rods 20. whereby by tightening up the screws 26. the tension of the springs may be increased. and by loosening these screws, the tension of the springs 25 may be decreased. as required.

To the disk 22. a vertically extending elongated rod 28 is eccentrically and pivotally connected at its upper end. This link rod extends dowmvardly from the disk 22 and at its lower end passes loosely through a hole in and is hooked beneath a crank arm 29 which extends rearwardly' from a trans vcrsely extending shaft 30 journaled in a casing 31 supported by the real-most upright insane;

ratch 34 is held under tension by a spring 36, -the spring ,being connected at. one end to the casing wall" and at its upper end to the catch and extending across thepivot point or center of :i'n'ovement of the catch, whereby the spring will havfean increasing tension as soon as it has passed the center durin its operationof moving the. catch,and

catch 34 an lpermit the latter to a wi 1 thus quickly snap, the same. forwardly in its-operative movement.- A lightspring 37 is coded around the? shaft and exerts a. tension thereon in a; direction to move the; lug 32 into engagement with the shoulder," 33, whereby whenthe catch-is inoved over to, the position illustrated in F ig.f 2'Jb'y means that will be hereinafter fully described, the

shaft- 30 .-will automatically set; itself andhold the catch undeptension by "the-engage ment of the lug 32w ith the shoulder 33;

The shaft 3O -is provided at each-end with an angular pin 38 constituting, a crankarni which is designed "for engagement by the. supporting bar 39;wh ich is mounted uporr the adj oining reducedjournalendw of the shaft. and whichicarries at its free end, the feeler fingers 41 that are designed, in their. normal positions, to be located between frame rods 42, with the yarn or thread passed inand out between said fin ers and rods. The fingers 41 have. a ten 'ency to move out fromthe'frame rods A2" due to the vertically ofi set position of their=pi vots and will drop 'incase the thread or yarn breaks, in which event, the bars- 39 will more around and. strike the angular pins ,iSso-as to disengage the lug 32 from the .ct' under the influence-of its spring 36. a A lower tension 'member or link rod 43 is pivotally connected at its upper end to the catch and passes. downwardly out of an 0])(fl1ll'lf44 formed-in the casing 31, said link rodbeing connected at itslower end to a latch 45 which is pivoted at 46 but a post 47 rising from the base 1. The latch 45 is formed with a shoulder. 4:8 and with a setting cam 49 designed for engagement by a setting arm 50 which is secured toa shaft 51 supported by the base 1 said shaft being provided with an actuating handle 52. At this point, it willbe understood that when the handle is moved in one direction, the arm 50 r ill engage the cam 49 of the latch 45 and suing the latch 45 in a direction to pull down upon the link rod 43 so as to effect the interlocking engagementaof the catch 34 an shaft 30. This-istheznormal inoperative osition of the parts...

' Secured to the opposite side of- :thecasing '31 are adjusting screws 53 which are held under tension by springs 5 andwwhich support :Iaxially movable gknot catchersrfifi, each of'which is formed with a plurality of fingers 56 formed with slotsio'l =0f-3a1ying widths, whereby any of; saidfingers may be brought into proper positionte have the thread ,o'r yarn passed: throughiitiend to engage a knot or other. theyarn, iIIi order to hold these; stop devices in" place after they have beeniiaxially adjusted, each te'n sioninglsorewE53'svis provided with an inwardly projectingivpiii; 58, agd'the fingers 56 are formed "W-itll iSOClCOtS oratrec'essesfifi) for-thereceptionxofasaid pi'n.

By drawing either of the devioes fi-nwardly, the pin '58 will be disengaged fro'inioneof the recesses 59 and the 'stop deviceg may be turnedIfor adjustment and again mired in adjusted -position. v The'sha'ft 51; is encircled by a spring 60 .which is designed to turn -it, the shaft being held under tension againstudhithrn ing' movement by the engagement-- of its The said shaft carriestafl trip: arm: 61. which struction on- "arm 50 witli the'shoulder48 ofthefllatch 45. I

is designed to engageahe angular erid ,62 of head; of thQknitt-ing. machine atndcarries a crank-armffia which is designed-iteengage an operating handle 35 one shaft/35%.,- This last named shaft has a crank 'conn'ection 67 with a link 68 pivot'ally conneeted ttr-the beltshiftin rod 69. constituting atoggle joint, where ywhe'n the "shaft- 66fisf turned in "a-direction to'break the joint between the belt shifting device will be permittedto act and thereupon immediately= shift' 'the belt from the fast'piilley to the -loose piilley so as to deprive the knitting Inachi'neeipower. At the same time, the movementef'the shaft .63 which has, through the instrumentality ."of the cranks 64 and 65,".turnd the shaft 66 and tripp'e-d the belt shiftingdevice, will by means of its upwardly; extending-arm 71',

move the lever 72 laterally awayhfrom the upwardly facing shoulder 73' .u'pon"='wlrti'ch it rests, against the tension 'of 'th'epring 74 V slightflaterfl movement in a'fla red bore 81 in'the machine frame (see the brake actuating spring 75"=cohne cted to-sald lever, will then be permitted to' 'a 'ct to carry I the operation of my improved automatic stop mechanism for knitting machines, will be apparent. In the practical use ofthe device. the yarn, for instance, is threaded up from the spools 10 through the lower guides 11, through the slots 57 of corresponding knot-catchers 56, between fingers 41 and 42 through the upper guides 11 and thence. looped around the forwardly and downwardly projecting extremities 14 of the tension detector fingers 15, and thence to the needles that are carried by the head 8 (not shown). The handle 52 is actuated in a direction to draw downwardly upon the latch 45. and is engaged with the shoulder 4 thereof, and the brake actuating lever 7'). is raised by this handle 78 and engaged with the shoulder 73 so as tohold said lever in an inoperativeposition against the tension of its spring 75.1 The downward movement of the latch 4.1 and its consequent downward pull upon the link rod 43 will, as is evident, have caused the"eatch 34 to be moved to the left, as viewed in Fig. .2, whereupon the spring 37 will cause the shaft 30 to turn in a direction to eifeet the interlocking engagement of the lug 32 and shoulder 33, and the parts will thembe all in set position, ready for operation, should the yarn become knotted or broken, o;- the tension of the yarn increase unduly. It will, of course, be understood that the yarn is passed in and out between the fingers 41 and the frame rods 42, the feeler fingers being theleby held in a relatively upright. position. 4

Should the, yarn become knotted, itxis evident-that when the knot arrives at the knot catcher finger 56, through the slot of which the yarn passing, the movement of the yarn will be" arrested at that point and consetplentlv the downward pull upon that portion of the yarn which is passing to the head 8. of thekliitting machine, will cause the tcnsioning; finger 15 of such yarn to swing rearwarellv about its stud'axis 16, the yarn, by this arward movement ofthe finger automatically strippingitself therefrom, while a be same time. a forward pull will be, imparted to one of the rods 20, the disk 22 willi consequently be turned and the link rod 28 will be pulled upwardly so as to release the lug 3i! from the shoulder 32' of the catch 34, and the spring 36 of said catch will innncdistely act to snap the latch over to the ri flt, as viewed in Fig. and pull upward f upou the. lower link rod 43. thereby disengaging the shoulder 48 of the latch 45 from the arm .70 and permitting the shaft 51 to be turned by its spring (30 in a direction to trip the shifting device and to automatically apply the. brake. Thus the machine will be at once brought to a standstill. The same action will take place should the yarn break, for in that event, one of the fe'cler fingers will drop forwardly and its bar 39 will strike one of pins 38 so as to disengage in that manner the lug 32 from the shoulder 33 of the catch 34.

'liile the accompanying drawings illustrate what I believe to be the preferred embodiment of my invention. itis to be understood that the invention not limited thereto. but that various changes may be made in the construction. arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from thescope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

'hat I claim is 1. In a varn actuated stop mechanism the comhinatirm of supportingguides through which the yarn is adapted to be passed, a support for said guides, a tension detector. pivotedion said support and depending from said pivot, said detector having a down- 'ardl v projecting bent extremity over which the yarn is adapted to be passed, whereby movement of the detector through a short are wholly beneath said pivot will cast ofi theyarn at or near the completion of a machine. a support to which said detector is pivotallv connected, said detector having frwdonro movement toward the axis of; the machine, means for actuating the stop mechanisni, and a substantially vertical and upwardly open fixed guide for the yarn sl|l)stantng Ly on the vertical axis of and above sa' 3' machine, the detector being adapted anove through the opening in said gu id I 3. lira stop mechanism of the character described, tripping mechanism, a catch adapted to actuate said tripping mechanism,

a shaft designed for interlocking-engage" '110 ment with the catch, means for mowing the. catch in a direction to operate the tripping mechanism upon the disengagement of the catch and shaft, a casing in which the catch is mounted, independently movable detectors in contact with the yarn or yarns and direct connections between said shaft and said detectors tojrotate the shaft on its axis to disengage the catch upon the occurrence of a fault in the-yarn. I

4. In a st ip mechanism of the character descrihedxta ii actuating mechanism, including a spring actuated catch, a casing in which saitib lch is mounted, a shaft extending across 1d casing and journaled therein having means thereon to engage the catch and provided at its ends with lingers, and

detector fingers mounted on the respective ends of said shaft and independently movfingers, wherehv to disengage the shaft from the catch.

5. ln stop mechanism of the character descrilwd. the combination with tripping mechanism. including a spring actuated catch formed with a shoulder, a *asing in whi h said atch is mounted, a shaft journalcd in aid casing and provided with a lug adapted to engage said shoulder, a crank arm connected to said shaft. a link rod con nected to said crank arm. a disk to which one end of the link .rod is tarcentritailly connected. a support for said disk, a tension detector over which the yarn is adapted to be passed. a knot catcher for the yarn, the disk being formed with an apertured lip and a tcnsioued rod passing through said apertured lip and pivotally connected to the tensioning finger.

6. In mechanism of the elmlracter described, the combination with trip mechanism, including a catch. of means for holding said cat h in. a set position. and means tending to release said catch. said last named means including a disk. a support for said disk. a link rod pivotalrv connected to said disk, two tension detectors o\er which the. yarn or the like is adapted to "be passed, knot catchers for the yarn, the disk being formed with a laterally elongated lip formed with separate and distinct apertures, and tensioned link rods pivotally connected to the tension detectors. and passing rearwardly' therefrom through the respective apertures of the lip and formed in the rear of said apertures with hooks, whereby either rod may turn the disk without moving the other rod.

7. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with trip mecha nism, including a spring actuated catch. of a casing in which said catch is mounted, the catch being formed with a' shoulder. a shaft journaled in said casing and provided with a lug adapted to engage said shoulder, means tending to move the shaft in a direction to ctl'ect the engagement of the lug with the shoulder. a tension detector finger over which the yarn or the like is adapted to be passed, a knot catcher for the. yarn. and means whereby the movement of said finger will automatically strip the yarn therefrom and disengage the lug of the shaft from the catch.

8. A knot catcher for use in a yarn actuated stop motion device comprising a rotatable member having an axial bore and a plurality of radial separated arms. each arm having a knot or slub detaining slot of selected width'in a plane substantially at right angles to its axis of rotation.

9. In a knitting machine stop motion. a rotatively adjustable knot-catcher comprising radial slotted arms, a headed stud on which said device is mounted, a pin on the head. the knot catcher having slots for engagenicnt by the pin to hold the selected arm in position for use, and a spring to hold the pin and slot in engagement.

it). A machine of the character described, including a casing. a support therefor, a stop device for the yarn. carried by said casing, a spring pressed catch mounted in the .casing, a shaft iournaled in the casing and provided with a lug adapted to engage said catch to hold it in an inoperative osition against the tension of its spring, at upper link rod connected to said shaft to turn the. same. a horizontally disposed bracket, a. disk journaled on said bracket and to which the upper end of said link rod is eccentrically connected. a tension detector finger pivotally carried by the bracketat the forward end of the latter and over which the thread or yarn is adapted to be passed, a tensioned rod pivotally connected to said tensioning finger and connected to the disk to turn the same upon down 'ard and rearward pressure being imposed upon said finger, a link rod connected to and extending downwardly from the catch. a latch connected to the lower end of said last named link rod and provided with a shoulder, an arm for detachable engagement with said shoulder, a trip shaft to which the arm is connected, means tending to move the trip shaft in an operative direction, and a-belt shifting device adapted to be tripped by the said movement of the arm.

11. In mechanism of the character described, the combination of a catch, a setter shaft arranged to hold the catch in an inoperative position. means for actuating the catch upon its release from the setter shaft, means for operating the setter shaft automatically, as specified, to release it from the catch. a link rod connected to said catch, a shouldered latch connected to said link rod, an arm adapted to engage said shoulder, a trip shaft spring pressed in one direction and adapted to be held against movement with its spring under tension by the engagement of said arm with the latch. a brake lever. means for holding said brake lever in an inoperative position. means tending to more the brake lever into operative position upon being released from said holding means. an automatic belt shifter, and means actuated by the movement of said trip shaft to disengage the brake arm from its holding means and for automatically tripping the belt shifter.

12. In a knitting machine stop-motion a plurality of yarn detectors. a power-release device. trip mechanism for the release device, comprising an upwardly extending ten ion member or link rod for releasing the trip mechanism. and mechanism for actuating the tension member upon the operation of any of the detectors comprising a casing,

a transverse shaft in said casing, a spring pressed pivoted cat h t which the tension member is ecccntricallyconnected a lug on the shaft to restrain movement of the catch, and a pluralit of eccentric members on the shaft indem-mlently connected to the said detectors.

13. In a stop motion device for knitting machines po\\'er-,rcleasc devices, a support, a plurality of yarn tension detectors formed as levers with \'arn-engagin'g ends, links engaging the other end of said levers and'each engaging:- a common connwtion to said release devices. and indepeh'dcntly adjustable tension springs mounted on said support and acting longitudinally upon said links.

ll. In a knitting machine stop motion, detector mechanism actuated upon the occurrence of a fault in the material under I manufacture, trip mechanism, and connections to the detector mechanism, a spring actuated thrmv-ofi'. an operating shaft and handle therefor. a rock shaft having a crank to actuate said handle to throw off the power, a spring-pres ed machine brake having an element pivoted to swing toward the power shaft, but having freedom of movement in another plane. a fixed shoulder in the machine frame miu-mally supporting the bake element in an idle position, a second crank arm on the rock-shaft to move and disengage the brake; and connections from the trip mechanism to operate the rockshaft.

In testimony whereof I'hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

IVERN W. .GROTHEY. \Vitnesses GEO. E. HER'tZ, FRANK J. METER. 

